Consumer group CHOICE has released the results of its latest quarterly, government-funded report on supermarket prices across the country.
Now in its second year, CHOICE's latest supermarket basket features new products and a smaller "base basket", allowing more spotlight items to be added each quarter, and a wider variety of products to be compared across the year.
In addition to base items, which will be tracked across the year, this quarter's basket surveyed the prices of a number of popular winter products - vegetable stock, sour cream, drinking chocolate, butternut pumpkin, quick oats, garlic, and onions.
"Aldi had the best deal for shoppers looking to keep cosy this winter, with the full basket of 14 items without specials costing $55.35. Woolworths wasn't too far behind at $58.92. The Coles basket without specials came in at $59.22, and the IGA basket would cost you $69.74," says Ashley de Silva, CHOICE CEO.
"Without specials, Woolworths had the cheapest chicken breasts and pumpkin, while Coles had the best deal on apples. At IGA, you paid less for carrots and garlic than at the three other supermarkets. For all other products in our basket, Aldi is your best bet," says de Silva.
"When taking into account specials, Aldi still came out on top, with its basket costing $54.44. Coles was next at $57.67, then Woolworths at $58.86, and IGA at $67.54," says de Silva.
"All up, if you're planning a hearty porridge breakfast, or wanting a cup of hot chocolate to keep you feeling snug, Aldi should be your first stop. But, as always, there are lots of other ways to save on your weekly grocery shop. Checking the unit pricing, keeping an eye on specials, shopping around, and trying out house brand products can all add up to significant savings," says de Silva.
Editor's notes:
Supermarkets and locations
Fieldworkers priced groceries at 104 supermarkets in 27 locations across Australia in March 2025.
Grocery basket items
For all items we chose, we considered a range of factors such as ingredient lists, country of origin and packaging similarities to ensure we made fair comparisons. When items were unavailable, we looked for the closest alternative, just as you would when shopping for your family. As part of our new approach in year two, we're sharing the full contents of our basket, which this quarter included 10 fresh and 4 packaged items. You can see the full list of what we purchased at each store by visiting our website.
Our base basket, which will remain the same over the next year, includes:
- Full cream milk
- Sanitarium Weetbix
- Royal Gala apples
- Carrots
- Cavendish bananas
- Strawberries
- Chicken breast fillets, bulk pack
Spotlight items for this quarter were:
- Vegetable stock
- Sour cream
- Drinking chocolate
- Butternut pumpkin
- Quick oat sachets
- Garlic
- Brown onions
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
